Early Years
She was born Giuseppina De Micheli and took the name Sister Maria Pierina on 16 May 1914, when she took vows as a member of the Daughters of the Immaculate Conception, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Sister Pierina did not initiate the Holy Face of Jesus devotion, for it had already been started almost a century earlier by a French Carmelite nun, Sister Marie of St Peter, of Tours, France. Both women claimed visions of Jesus and Mary as part of their motivation for following the devotion.
She had been aware of the Holy Face of Jesus devotion since an early age. From 1919 to 1921 she was sent to the motherhouse of her religious congregation in Argentina. While there, her attachment to the Holy Face devotion grew stronger. After her return to Milan she was eventually elected as the mother superior of her house and began to spread the devotion.
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